Last Saturday, news from Russia made their way around the world, reporting a military uprising of the mercenary Wagner troop. As reported by WDR, the head of the Wagner troop, Yevgeny Prigozhin, had sent his army forward into Russian territoryand is even said to have already been on the way towards Moscow.
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Even before that, Prigozhin has repeatedly openly criticized the military leadership of the Russian army.On Saturday evening, however, the Wagner chief had already recalled his troops. The reason? He reportedly signed a deal with President Putin, which should allow him a safe exit to Belarus.
Experts fear more brutal action from Vladimir Putin
What will happen in Russia next remains to be seen, especially in light of the war in Ukraine. However, some German foreign policy experts fear that the Russian president could now go all out in order to avoid giving the impression of a weakened and overawed Russian leadership. This is reported by the Tagesspiegel and the magazine Made in Bocholt, among others.
Roderich Kiesewetter of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) suspects that Putin will want to strengthen his domestic political image and consequently 'intensify' and 'brutalize' his actions in the Ukraine war. In his opinion, the focus should now be more than ever on supporting Ukraine.
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Putin tries to conceal his weakness
Overall, Putin is thus classified as 'weakened' by the mercenary uprising - he is 'at the beginning of his end,' according to Roderich Kiesewetter. Nevertheless, one has to be careful, because what this end will look like is 'unpredictable'.
Free Democratic Party foreign policy expert Ulrich Lechte also suspects that the Russian president is now expanding his 'terror regime' to conceal his weakness. Jürgen Trittin of the Green Party even considers it 'worrying' that Russia has been threatened by a mercenary force. According to his assessment, not even the US is prepared for what could now follow. We will now see how the situation in Russia unfolds.
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This article has been translated from Gentside DE.
Sources used:
Tagesspiegel: 'After Coup Attempt in Russia: 'Putin Will Make the War Even More Brutal'
WDR: 'After the Wagner Uprising - What's Happening in Russia Right Now?'
Made in Bocholt: 'Foreign policy experts fear more aggressive Putin'.